Analysis of Hamlet through the ideas of Sigmund Freud

Abstract

Hamlet is a famous Elizabethan tragedy by the well-known dramatist William Shakespeare. Instead of being a tragedy it also deals with the other aspects. It does not only talk about historical background, tragic elements or about its plot and theme but it is the play about the inner conflicts, the inner conflicts of a character. Hamlet is the tragedy about the psychological approach. The present paper deals with the analysis of Hamlet through the ideas of Sigmund Freud or with the help of psychological approach. Psychological approach also known as the psychoanalytic theory or criticism. This approach is very interesting to analyse the psychology and the mind of the character. This approach has a broad scope in the field of the medical as well as in the literature. Literature is considered as a work of human creation so in this sense literature and psychology are interconnected with each other. Freudian exploration of the unconscious altered the interpretation of Hamlet by Shakespeare. This paper is an attempt to critically analyse Hamlet by using this approach. Literature and psychology are interrelated because they play an essential role in our day to day life. Both of them deals with the problems of human life as an individual and also a social being. Hamlet is considered as the psychological play. The basic reason is that it deals with the mind of the protagonist as the critical force in this play. This paper also shows that Hamlet is one of the most complicated character in the history of English literature. The tangled nature of Hamlet’s unconsciousness, his oedipal complex, his hesitation, and his madness.